A GAMES website selling £429 Xbox Ones cruelly ripped off a teenager recovering from cancer when it pocketed the money he had saved and never sent him a system.

The new video game console, the Xbox One (or Xbone) is both expensive and in semi-limited supply [GETTY]

After battling through very tough times recently, Jake Scott, 13, had pinned his hopes on being among the first to have some fun with the new console when it was released in November. It was www.getmegaming.com's promise to deliver on time that drew him.

However there was only bitter disappointment when the site emailed some flimsy excuses just hours before the offi-cial launch. A Stephen Marshall, calling himself the site's managing director and apparently working from a residential address in Nottingham, blamed supplier problems and promised to sort them.

Jake, his dad Paul and grandfather Mike, who had transferred the £430 payment in October via his bank Lloyds, waited weeks but heard nothing more and are convinced they were scammed.

Paul said: "It's been crushing for my son. Worry was the last thing he needed after all he has been through. The only message we got was sent to others as well, so plenty may have been conned."

Worse was to come for the Scotts, who turned to Skrill, the electronic payments processor handling getmegaming.com's transactions. The company is keen to trumpet its good service and credentials, including crucial authorisation from regulator the Financial Conduct Authority but the Scotts say they were treated to little more than hot air when they appealed to Skrill for help getting a refund.

Although electronic payments processors are independent with limited responsibility, they are able to intervene in certain circumstances and should have systems in place to help customers and where possible protect them.

The response the Scotts received from a "Donovan" in Skrill's customer services was to wash its hands of the matter, saying in a series of opaque, jargonriddled phrases it was not in a position to assist. It did though "assure" the family it had tried and had taken "appropriate action" against the merchant.

On putting the Scotts' case to Skrill, we also asked it to explain what "appropriate" action it had taken once aware of problems

"It did not amount to anything - we felt insulted," Paul told Crusader.

Our own emails to getmegaming were consistently ignored and it wasn't easy getting through to Skrill. The firm's landline offers nine options, all of which had an automated "you are in a queue" answer on the numerous times Crusader called. The sketchy advice Skrill offers about making a complaint contains a link to information describing the process that led only to a blank page.

On putting the Scotts' case to Skrill, we also asked it to explain what "appropriate" action it had taken once aware of problems in order to stop others getting ripped off, why exactly it was unable to help Jake and, if it had had other complaints, did it feel it had dealt with them satisfactorily?

It refused to comment save to confirm it no longer had a connection with the site and was looking into its link problem. Thankfully it must have accepted some of Crusader's points because, to the Scotts' genuine joy, Skrill has refunded the £430 as a goodwill gesture. For that it certainly does deserve some applause.

"Jake was overjoyed when we told him," said Paul. "At last something has gone right for us but we're sure this only happened because of Crusader."

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